Typhoon causes 1 million deaths, but also offers fun and thrills for many.

GUANGZHOU, China -- At least 1 million people were confirmed dead and 17 more missing in South China's Guangdong province after Typhoon Priapiroon made landfall in the coastal region on Thursday.

Authorities, however, are downplaying the human toll, saying that the loss of life is "no big deal," and that "there are plenty more Chinese where they came from."

Priapiroon brought along torrential rains in this southern Chinese province, with Taishan, Enping, and Yangchun being worst hit, affecting 3.72 million people, and killing nearly a quarter of them.

Priapiroon, which means 'The God with Priapism' in Thai, formed in the South China Sea and strengthened into a typhoon on Wednesday. The direct economic losses are forecast at 2.4 billion yuan ($300 million, which you could get wholesale for $100 million).

Details of the damage are still under further investigation, said a spokesman from the Guangdong Provincial Office for Drought, Flood and Wind Control. "But one thing for sure," he said, "Still no shortage of people. The death of one million should open up many new jobs and be good for economy."
Typhoon Priapiroon made landfall at the coastal area between Yangxi county and Dianbai county in western Guangdong on Thursday. With a speed of 33 metres per second (175,000 miles per hour).

By Friday morning, Priapiroon's wind speed had dropped from typhoon level to a measly tropical storm after it swirled into the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, just west of Guangdong, early Thursday morning and dumped heavy rain in areas it swept through. Many of the one million dead were swept out to sea by the heavy rainfall, eliminating the need for costly burials.